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Published 2014-10-01 11:07. Updated 2017-07-06 14:23

New Grants to MTC Autumn 2014

10 MTC researchers have received grants for medicine, NT and development research projects from the Swedish Research Council (VR) this November. A further researcher has received the Novo Nordisk Foundation Advanced Grant and Cancerfonden have also awarded 6 MTC cancer researchers grants.

Elisabeth Norin is interviewed on Vetenskapens värld on SVT

Anders Björkman goes to Liberia to fight Ebola

Anders Björkman, Professor in infectious diseases and research group leader at MTC, will be travelling to Liberia with MSB (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap) to help fight the spread of the Ebola virus. In an article in Läkartidningen Anders descibes how he made the decision.

New knowledge about anemia and fatigue in cancer patients

Many patients with cancer experience low blood counts, which causes weakness and fatigue. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and colleagues from China and the UK have discovered how a tumour affects a patient’s blood count and bone marrow characteristics. The study has been published online in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Professor Jonas Berg at the Department of Oncology and Pathology together with Professor Yiha Cao and Sir David Lane from MTC and Pär Norlund at MBB have recieved a five year grant for 39,6 M SEK from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation for research focusing on discovering more effective breast cancer treatments

Marina Stantic in the Margaretta Wilhelm Group at MTC has won first prize in the KI Cancer Retreat Poster session. The KI Cancer network is the largest network of its kind at KI and hundreds of members attend the annual retreat.
The prize is sponsored by Kancera AB and consists of 10,000 SEK.

Professor Yihai Cao has been awarded the Novo Nordisk Foundation Advanced Grant. The requirements for receiving an advanced grant are that the research project is of the highest international quality and that the researcher is an established researcher at a high international level. The researchers selected by the committee were invited to submit a five-year research program with regard to receiving a grant of 10 million Danish kroner in portions of 2 million Danish kroner yearly for 5 years.

A sub-population of antibody-secreting cells, B-1 cells, provides early protection against several types of pathogens. Both the development and function differ between B-1 and the better known B-2 cells. In a paper in the current issue of PNAS, Pedersen et al. demonstrate the existence of a phenotypically distinct B-1 transitional cell population in the neonatal spleen of wild type mice. This transitional B cell subset was lost in the absence of the atypical NF-κB regulator IκBNS, thus revealing a requirement for intact NF-κB signaling during this stage of B-1 cell development. Studies of B-1 cell development and function by selective ablation of specific regulators of the NF-KB pathway may reveal new targets for therapeutic intervention

Axel Hirsch Prize for groundbreaking research on angiogenesis

Professor Yihai Cao at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet is awarded the 2014 Axel Hirsch Prize for his groundbreaking studies on angiogenesis and its importance for numerous physiological and pathological conditions.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – May 30, 2014. Today, Dilaforette AB announced the results from an exploratory Phase I/II clinical trial in malaria with its candidate drug sevuparin. Sevuparin was studied in adult patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria as adjunct treatment and was found to be safe and well tolerated. The study results indicates important early anti-adhesive effects with a potential to improve the outcome for patients with severe malaria, even though the primary efficacy endpoint was not met. Karolinska Development owns 69 percent of Dilaforette.

10 Year Swedish Research Council Grant to Foreign Adjunct Professor Sir David Lane

Foreign Adjunct Professor and MTC friend, Sir David Lane has been awarded 144 million SEK over a period of 10 years from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet ) as part of an unprecedented initiative by Sweden to recruit international top researchers to Swedish Universities. David will expand ongoing collaborations at MTC and initiate new KI-wide activities during what promises to be an extremely exciting decade for basic, translational and interdisciplinary experimental research. We congratulate David and wish him warm welcome to KI!

The Cancer and Allergy Foundation ́s Environmental Medicine Award is one of the largest research awards available in Sweden and is given each year to one or two prominent researchers in environment-­‐related cancer and allergy research. This year's award ceremony took place on May 19th, 2014 and one of the recipients was MTC's Britta Wahren

Jan Albert Honoured for his HIV Research

Chief Physician and Professor Jan Albert has been awarded the Honorary Red Ribbon from the Hiv-Sverige organisation. The annual award is given out by Hiv-Sverige on International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day to individuals or groups who have made a significant improvement for HIV sufferers in Sweden during the year.

NIH grant to Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam at MTC

Professor Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam (pictured) at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at KI, receives a PO1 grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH). The total amount of the grant is 80 million SEK, to be shared between four research groups. In addition to Karlsson Hedestam, L. Shapiro at Columbia University, Yuxing Li at TSRI and Richard Wyatt at TSRI share the grant. Twenty million SEK is awarded to Karlsson Hedestam’s group over five years, 2014–2019.

The aim of the project is to analyze, at a high level of resolution, immune responses elicited by new generation soluble HIV-1 glycoproteins. The research group at MTC will investigate B cell affinity maturation processes and recruitment of B cells into long-lived memory compartments. The evolution of specific antibody lineages will be examined by single cell and next generation sequencing to further understand host antibody responses to foreign protein antigens.

Björn Önfelt has received a Medical Bioengineering Grant for 32 Million SEK from The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). The grant is for research focusing on cell based therapy and is one of 8 Medical Bioengineering Grants this spring from SSF for a total of 250 Million SEK.

Wallenberg Academy Fellows Candidates from MTC

For the 2014 round of the Wallenberg Academy Fellowships, we were proud to see that all 3 candidates MTC had nominated were selected to represent KI in the national evaluation process. The candidates are: Anita Göndör and Jonathan Coquet (internal candidates) and Edmond Loh (external candidate). The Wallenberg Academy Fellows program, which aims to engage up to 125 young researchers in different disciplines over a five-year period, gives support up to a total value of 1.2 billion SEK. The selection of the 2014 Fellows will be announced at the end of the year. We wish Anita, Jonathan and Edmond the best of luck with their applications!

Three New Group Leaders Appointed

Three new group leaders have been appointed by the MTC Head of Department from March 2014; Anita Göndor (DNA repair and chromosome crosstalk: a two-way relationship), Jonas Sundbäck (Immunology research/undergraduate education) and Margareta Wilhelm (Exploring the role of p73 isoforms during tumor development). Congratulations!More information about MTC researchers

New findings on neurogenesis in the spinal cord

Research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests that the expression of the so called MYC gene is important and necessary for neurogenesis in the spinal cord. The findings are being published in the journal EMBO Reports.

Investigating mechanical properties of cells to better understand the cause of cancer

Oncogenes deregulate fundamental cellular functions, leading to the development of tumors and metastases. A recent article, published in PNAS, from researchers at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC), Karolinska Institutet together with colleagues at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), clarifies how oncogenes induce the stiffness and invasive capacity of transformed cells.

The research group found that oncogenes change the organization of the vimentin fibers of the intracellular cytoskeleton, induce cell stiffness and an invasive capacity of cells. They also showed that the protein HDAC6 mediates this effect on vimentin reorganization and increased cell stiffness. These findings reveal how key molecules for tumor treatment and diagnosis, such as oncogenes, HDAC6 and vimentin, can modulate cell stiffness.

- Therefore, the findings underscore the importance of investigating the mechanical properties of cells to fully understand what causes tumors and metastasis, explains project leader Annica Gad at MTC.

Birgitta Henriques Normark appointed Vice Dean of Recruitment

Birgitta Henriques Normark has been appointed new vice dean of recruitment for a three year term commencing 1 April 2014.

Birgitta Henriques Normark receives the appointment of vice dean of recruitment after the position was advertised inviting applications of interest, and following a decision by the Vice Chancellor on the proposal of the internal boards. Since she will not be taking office until 1 April 2014, Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg’s term as vice dean will be extended until 31 March. The position is equivalent to the former one of “assistant dean of recruitment” and places the incumbent, as chairperson of the Recruitment Committee, in charge of preparing the recruitment of professors and senior lecturers, including adjuncts and visiting teachers.

Congratulations to your scholarship! What is your research background?

I started my cancer research in 2005 and made my PhD defense in Moscow, Russia in 2009 within tumor biology and epigenetics. In 2010, I joined George Klein's group and started working on the tumor microenvironment.

Please tell us some more about your present research project concerning in-depth studies of the tumor microenvironment applied on prostate cancer.

One out of three people get cancer. But two out of three never do. Why is this? Tumor cells are very heterogeneous, which suggests that there are some general protective mechanisms working against development of tumorigenic cells. This protection comes from the tumor microenvironment. The goal of my project is to reveal these mechanisms. Another question is whether there are differences between individuals. The understanding of these mechanisms will contribute to new targets for individualized cancer prognosis, treatment and (hopefully!) prevention of cancer.

What are your plans for the next five year period?

I would love to continue my scientific career at Karolinska Institutet, and continue with studies of the tumor microenvironment. I hope to be able to start my own group and to work on new projects.

Why do you think it is important to support The Georg & Eva Klein Foundation?

Georg and Eva Klein are not only great scientists, they are also excellent teachers. They still work a lot with young researchers, sharing their experiences and their bright insight in science. Having the opportunity to work together with Georg and Eva is a great school and real pleasure for young researchers.

New Grants to MTC Autumn 2013

8 MTC researchers have received grants for medicine, NT, Swedish Research Links and development research projects from the Swedish Research Council (VR) this November. A further two researchers have received Framework grants for research cooperation with China and Framework grants in antimicrobial resistance, from the Sweden-NSFC (China) joint research program. Cancerfonden have also awarded 6 MTC cancer researchers grants. In addition, 3 researchers have been awarded project grants from Barncancerfonden.

Swedish Research Council (VR) Annual Grants in thousand SEK

Name

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Total

Albert, Jan

1 M

1 M

1 M

1 M

1 M

5 M

Henriques Normark, Birgitta

700

700

700

2.1 M

Karlsson, Mikael

1 M

1 M

1 M

3 M

Pettersson, Sven

700

700

700

700

2.8 M

Kaneko, Akira

946

742

742

2.448 M

Rottenberg, Martin

281

225

245

751

Ohlsson, Rolf

900

900

900

900

3.6 M

Römling, Ute

700

800

800

800

3.1 M

Swedish Research Council (VR) Framework grants for research cooperation with China and Framework grant in antimicrobial resistance, Sweden-NSFC (China) joint research program in Million SEK

Name

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Total

Henriques Normark, Birgitta

3.901

3.901

3.901

3.901

3.810

19.392

Hoffner, Sven

3.923

3.923

3.923

3.923

3.923

19.502

Swedish Research Council (VR) Framework grants and research schools in infection and antibiotics in Million SEK

Hannah Akuffo Accepted as Fellow of The Royal Collage of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE)

Professor Hannah Akuffo has been accepted to be a Fellow of The Royal Collage of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE). This is in recognition for her research work in the area of infectious diseases and for her leadership role in the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). The award was presented to her on Friday October 18th.

Motivation for the award

Professor Hannah Akuffo has an extensive and proven track record in research on the immunology of poverty-related parasitic diseases and has extensive experience of Euro-African research cooperation and funding. Her work has included studies to develop an affordable tool for diagnosis of the causative agent of river blindness. She has served over the last 12 years in various research steering committees of the World Bank/UNDP/WHO Special Programme on Tropical Disease Research and Training (TDR). In 2009, she was appointed to the prestigious position of the Chair of The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial